"What's going on?"
With disbelief in his eyes, Mimasaka Subaru stopped and looked back. The intense aroma of freshness made his brain feel somewhat numb and confused.
"Such a rich aroma, what did he add just now?"
Smelling the aroma, Eizan Etsuya's eyes instantly widened, and he looked towards Hoshino Sora's direction. Such an aroma, at Far Moon, undoubtedly reached the Elite Ten level!
As the Ninth Seat of the Elite Ten, he had witnessed many battles among the Elite Ten and naturally knew how terrifying Elite Ten cuisine could be. But now, the chef of this small restaurant in front of him could produce a dish of this caliber.
He couldn't believe it. A month ago, this guy's skill could at most reach that of a Far Moon honor student. Now, he had broken through to the Elite Ten. This was like a student who scored ninety in Chinese suddenly scoring ninety-five.
It seemed like only a five-point difference, but in reality, this five-point gap was like a chasm!
"Why aren't you moving? If you don't present your dish to the judges for tasting, they won't be able to score it, you know."
Looking at the stunned Mimasaka Subaru, Hoshino Sora calmly walked past him. He might not be able to come up with innovations for now, but he had plenty of black technology!
A hint of smugness showed in his eyes. He wasn't a hoarder and didn't have the habit of accumulating materials. He was skilled at making every tool useful to acquire more tools.
"If you're not going up, then I'll go first."
Placing the dish in front of the three judges, Kurome eagerly uncovered the lid of the dish in front of her, only to find no trace of meat. Just as she felt a slight disappointment, she realized her gaze couldn't move away from this bowl of Chunyang Noodle.
She was completely captivated!
It was a bowl of noodles with no ingredients, something she would usually disdain, but now it captivated her gaze, unable to move away even an inch.
Why?
Such a question arose in her mind. It turned out that the scent, which had inadvertently wafted into her nose, had taken control of her body. By the time she came to her senses, her hand was already holding chopsticks, and her body was uncontrollably leaning forward.
"So fresh..."
The voice beside her was soft, and her eyes showed a multicolored novelty. Yui Yuigahama found herself in a vibrant pasture, where the animals were colorful, and there was a small river full of river shrimp.
The taste was light but exceptionally long-lasting, leaving a fragrant aftertaste on her lips. Saliva flowed uncontrollably, and the rich umami made one forget that this was just a plain bowl of noodles with no ingredients.
"Ten points."
For general evaluators, dishes reaching this level were already the limit. They all gave out the highest score cards they held, a clean sweep of perfect scores.
Seeing his score, Hoshino Sora wasn't surprised. He merely turned his gaze to Mimasaka Subaru, who was still immersed in shock, and patted his shoulder.
"Gulp."
"Can you tell me what you added to your dish at the end?"
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, although he already knew the final answer in his heart, Mimasaka Subaru still brought his dish to the judging table, then asked with a puzzled expression.
"A secret isn't a secret once it's told, but there's no harm in telling you. It's my specially made spice, concocted from dozens of spices. Even with meticulous observation, it's impossible to imitate something that hasn't been revealed, right?"
The outcome was as expected: Hoshino Sora achieved an overwhelming victory. Faced with Mimasaka Subaru's question, he remained silent for a few seconds before concocting a lie.
Anyway, what he sprinkled was indeed a spice; it just didn't exist in this world. Perhaps it was a product from some Other World?
"Spice, huh? I didn't expect you to have researched that..."
Hearing Hoshino Sora's answer, Mimasaka Subaru was initially surprised, then found it quite reasonable, and a wistful expression appeared on his face.
Although he had put a lot of effort into the noodles, they were still somewhat inferior to the impact of that level of taste. The better texture couldn't compare to the rich umami.
Furthermore, because he appeared later, the taste of his dish was greatly overshadowed by Hoshino Sora's. It was like how someone who just ate candy wouldn't find watermelon sweet.
He finished his dish first for this very reason, wanting his taste to overpower Hoshino Sora's.
However, he lost, and he lost very clearly. It was a shame, given his reputation for meticulousness. He investigated for several days and couldn't even find out that the other party was a spice master. He truly felt ashamed.
"Go return all the kitchen knives you won. I don't have anything for you to do right now, but I'll be heading to Far Moon soon. I hope you'll still honor the Food War's wager then."
Looking at Mimasaka Subaru's complex expression, Hoshino Sora wiped his hands with a cloth, then let out a long sigh.
At this point, Eizan Etsuya had already left ahead of them. He knew that he couldn't do anything to this guy.
This was normal; he had anticipated this outcome before he came. Half a year ago, he had met a chef from China whose culinary skills were so exquisite that even he was no match.
He understood the principle that there are always people better than you. At such times, one must retreat and endure, and not forge a great enmity with high-level chefs. This was also why he was still an Elite Ten member to this day.
Someone too arrogant would have been kicked out long ago.
Ultimately, it was just the resources of one street. It was best if he could take it to make money; if not, it didn't matter. After all, he still had countless street resources under his command.
——————
[Task Completed]: Mimasaka Subaru's Challenge
[Task Description]: After ten days of observation and imitation, Mimasaka Subaru is fully prepared and has issued a Food War challenge to the host.
[Task Requirements]: Crush Mimasaka Subaru head-on, make him your underling, and contribute to your future domination of Far Moon.
[Task Reward]: Cooking Skill: Warmth-Sensing All-Rounder
After dealing with Mimasaka Subaru's matter, Hoshino Restaurant resumed normal operations. This time, the restaurant had no menu, only providing a handwritten list of ingredients.
Simply put, customers could tell the chef what they wanted to eat, and he would do his best to meet their needs. Also, today's orders were free, as a way to thank everyone for their usual support.
Of course, customers could also bring their own ingredients for him to process. He would explicitly state what he couldn't make and wrote on the door that he specialized in stir-fried dishes.
"Is it the last day...?"
After placing the sign explaining the situation at the door, Hoshino Sora said with a sigh. He stood at the door for a while before returning to the kitchen. Three minutes later, today's first order arrived.
It was a super-sized grilled lamb chop ordered by Akame and Kuroame. The restaurant definitely didn't have the ingredients, so they went out to find them. After that, there was a customer who wanted to eat Couple's Lung Slices, who reportedly had just broken up.
Hoshino Sora wasn't interested in the reasons; he took any job that came his way. As time passed, more and more people gathered at his restaurant. Some left full and satisfied, while others stayed.
This continued until closing time in the evening.
"Boss, are you really leaving? It's only been a few months, and business is doing quite well, isn't it?"
"I need to go to school to study. I'm still lacking something right now; I can't make truly delicious dishes."
"Actually, I think your craftsmanship is already good enough, Boss. Oh, with you leaving, I'm afraid we won't be able to eat your dishes anymore. When you return after your studies, the prices will probably go up too."
"Don't worry, I'll be back here eventually. The price of the food will only change based on the ingredients, and I won't make it unaffordable for everyone."
"Then we'll wait for you to return after your studies, Boss! Just thinking about being able to eat even more delicious dishes in the future makes me feel more motivated to live!"
"Exactly! Speaking of which, I used to have a bit of anorexia until I met the boss. The dishes at this restaurant always make me hungry, and I buy your set meals every day!"
"You're too kind, everyone."
Looking at the last twenty or so customers who remained, Hoshino Sora couldn't help but feel a little touched. After exchanging a few farewells with each of them, he placed a 'Closed' sign at the door.
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